Laura Roberts's Blog, page 43

Go read a book: Happy Read An Ebook Week!

Happy Read An Ebook Week!

Smashwords is running a special promotion this week (March 6 to 12), to encourage readers to give ebooks a try.

To help you celebrate, I’ve set up coupons for all of my regularly-priced $2.99 books. They will be available for 50% off with coupon code RAE50, and my 99¢ books are all FREE (coupon code RW100)!

Here’s a link to my complete list of books at Smashwords (scroll down to see them), so grab one or grab ’em all before this cool sale ends.

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Top 10 reasons to count every word

I’ve been tracking my daily word counts since January 1 as part of my participation in 10 Minute Novelists’ 365K Club, and I have to say that I’m an enthusiastic convert.

It’s a simple thing that really makes all the difference. So I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 reasons why you should be counting every word.

“What gets measured gets managed” – According to Peter Drucker (a management consultant, educator and author), the only way to manage your success is to measure it. Tracking word counts is an easy way to measure your daily, weekly, monthly and even yearly output, and to start making the tweaks you need to succeed.
Motivation, daily – I am actually charting my progress in several different ways, to see which are the most motivational for me. I’ve created a monthly worksheet, to chart my daily, weekly and monthly output, and then I write monthly goals on the bottom of the page, along with the amount of words I wrote the previous month. I also have a “Don’t Break the Chain” chart, which has Xs for each day I write, and several spreadsheets charting word counts and what I wrote. Each system has its own merits, but the overall goal is the same: keep on keepin’ on!
Don’t break the chain – Once you get started with word tracking, it helps to keep track in a very simple way. The Jerry Seinfeld “don’t break the chain” approach is one of the easiest. All you have to do is write every day, and then cross off the day when you’ve completed the task. After three days in a row, you’ll have a “chain.” Your goal? DON’T BREAK IT.
Graphs are pretty – Have you ever charted your daily word counts in a graph? It’s awesome! Especially if, like me, you typically work on multiple projects at once, and you set up a system to show how much progress you’ve made on each project. Colorful and helpful! (You can check out my January and February graphs here , if you’re curious.)
Celebrate every victory – Along the lines of daily motivation, tracking your progress helps you celebrate every victory. Have a day where your word count has blown you away? Highlight it! Do a little victory dance! Enjoy that success, and reward yourself. It really is the little things that add up over time, and taking a moment to savor your word counts really is a motivating factor that will help you keep pushing forward.
See where you fall down – On the flip side, we all make mistakes. We all fail. Charting your successes also means that sometimes you’ll have a big fat zero for your word count, and that’s humbling. Sometimes you’ll take the zero on purpose; everybody needs a day off, after all! Sometimes it’s due to life getting in the way of your writing. Be sure to note why you have the zero, and soon you’ll be able to see exactly where you make excuses for yourself. Even that can be a motivating force, if you’re determined to let nothing get in the way of your daily writing habit.
Improve on good habits – Just being able to see your successes on paper will encourage you to improve on those good habits. At first, I needed to leave the windows open for each of my charts, in order to remind myself to write each day. I made Post-It notes and stuck them to my monitor. I left the paper word tracker on top of my agenda. Now, I don’t even need the reminders; it’s become a good habit to write something every day, even if it’s just a personal journal page or two.
Diminish bad habits – Similarly, seeing your bad habits staring you in the face can give you a good reality check. When you see yourself slacking, for reasons within your control, you can put your foot down and do the work instead of shirking it. And if the reasons aren’t in your control, at least you can keep track of whatever’s pushing you off course. You choose your own adventures here, and making the daily choice to write can make a world of difference to the rest of your daily habits.
Find your groove – Feeling stressed? Not sure what time of day is best for you to write? Need a little guidance? Check your word counts! If you’re uncertain about what times and places work best for you, start tracking the times and locations along with the number of words you’re writing. Eventually you’ll start to see patterns, and once you can see the patterns, you can work to put yourself into that creative groove more regularly.
Finish that book – Best of all? Tracking your word count means you’ve got goals in mind. For me, I’ve got books I need to finish. Setting self-imposed deadlines, with a daily minimum, helps me reach my goals. So whether you choose 250 words a day or 1,000 (or even 10,000!), you’ve got an endpoint in mind. Deadlines are what get projects finished. Word counts are the daily chipping away that leads to finishing your book.

What did I miss?

What are some other reasons you like to track your daily word counts?

Want to track YOUR words?

In an effort to spread the helpful message of 365K Club’s commitment to daily word tracking, I’ve created my own Buttontapper Word Tracker. Want a free copy? Just sign up for my newsletter and you’ll receive a link to download it ASAP.

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What do mystery – or erotica – readers want?

What do mystery readers want?

According to author Tom Savage, they apparently want “realistic stories with no realism.”

His full quote goes a little deeper:

Crime novels with… only nice people in them? Sexy, violent thrillers with… no sex or violence? Murder mysteries with… no murders? What you’re asking for are realistic stories with no realism.

Copy that.

You see, I used to write erotica. And, in case you’re somehow not aware, erotica involves very explicit sex scenes. That is its entire raison d’être, in fact. And yet I would constantly get one of two responses from readers:

Too much sex!
This sex is too artistic!

For me, neither of these criticisms make much sense. The first one should be obvious: if you don’t want to read about sex, then get out of the erotica section.

But it’s the second criticism that really confuses me. How can sex be “too artistic”? Why is giving your characters’ sexual interactions some, well… character frowned upon?

For me, the whole reason I enjoyed writing erotica was because it allowed me to explore those explicit details of a sexual encounter, but with a different spin each time. Indeed, it was really the chase and the tease leading up to the sex scene itself that was most gratifying to write, because that’s exactly the sort of thing that most women – and men, let’s be honest – really enjoy. Once you get to the actual down and dirty, however, it’s mostly just a matter of giving the mechanics some life. I mean, how many times can you really write about inserting Tab A into Slot B without becoming either rote or giving it some artistic oomph?

So the fact that readers would complain that the sex was too artistically described continues to be a perplexing point. I can understand disliking the characters, or maybe not even believing the setup (as in pornographic movies, readers tend not to be impressed by stuff like the “Ding-dong, it’s the pizza guy! Oh, my clothes fell off! Bomp-chicka-wow-wow!” type of setup), but to actively rebel against literary devices employed in a sex scene seems a little ridiculous.

It reminds me of this Anaïs Nin letter to “The Collector,” who was paying her by the page for erotica, back in the 1940s. He instructed her to “leave out the poetry” and instead “concentrate on sex.”

Even though I no longer choose to write erotica, I still sympathize with Nin – and with all erotic authors who enjoy and embrace the art of writing about sex.

And when it comes to mysteries, I enjoy them in all flavors: crime fiction, sexy and violent thrillers, cozy, crazy, and downright dirty. I draw the line at hopping inside the mind of a serial killer (and being forced to sympathize with said nutjob – particularly the ones that always seem to be stalking women), but other than that, I revel in the vicarious thrill offered by mysteries and thrillers. In fact, I truly appreciate the ones that can blend art and evil, like Red Hammond’s XXX Shamus.

So what do mystery readers want?

This one, anyway, wants whatever you’ve got – so long as it’s told full-tilt.

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Politics and plans: 365K Club, week 9

It’s that time of the week again: time for another 365K Club word count check-in! Numbers, please…

February 27, Day 58: 235 words

February 28, Day 59: 390 words

February 29, Day 60: 1,298 words

March 1, Day 61: 814 words

March 2, Day 62: 767 words

March 3, Day 63: 141 words

March 4, Day 64: 530 words

That’s a grand total of 4,175 words for the week, and 2,252 for the month of March!

What was I working on this week?

As I mentioned in my last update, I started working on a new nonfiction book this week. What with all the Super Tuesday hubbub about the possibility (probability?!) of the Republican nominee for President being Donald Trump Drumpf, it seems obvious: I am writing a book about how Americans can move to Canada, in the event that this worst-case scenario becomes reality.

What’s funny is that this week I had also checked some of the newer reviews on Confessions of a 3-Day Novelist, and several of them objected to the fact that I talked (briefly) about politics in this book.

Really?

The political satire in question.

Look, I know lots of people don’t like politics, and probably don’t expect to read anything even remotely political in a book about how to write a novel in three days, but guess what? The novel I wrote in three days was a political satire.

With ninjas. And pirates.

So, yes, I write about politics in my books, but more in a totally ridiculous way – not an “if you disagree with me, then you’re wrong” political debate sort of way.

That’s what Facebook is for, right? Haha, just kidding. Facebook is where I post all the pictures of my cats!

Anyway, the book about moving to Canada is going to be another politically-charged book, in that A LOT of Americans are getting nervous about this election. And MILLIONS of them are looking at Canada’s immigration website, trying to find information on what to do if/when the shit hits the fan. I think that’s a pretty damn good reason to write a book on the subject. And since I’ve previously moved to Canada, lived there for almost a decade, and even married a Canadian, I figure I’m fairly qualified to talk about what it’s really like to live, work, or go to school there.

Did I beat last week’s total?

Last week’s total was 4,488 words, which wasn’t my personal best, but was still a pretty good crack at things. This week’s total doesn’t quite measure up, but next week I should be kicking ass once more.

Goals for next week?

Next week I’m joining the Book-in-a-Week gang, with a goal of 30 pages by week’s end, so that means somewhere in the neighborhood of 7,500 words. That really ought to get my book sailing ahead. See you on the other side of Daylight Savings Time!

Want to track YOUR words?

In an effort to spread the helpful message of 365K Club’s commitment to daily word tracking, I’ve created my own Buttontapper Word Tracker. Want a free copy? Just sign up for my newsletter and you’ll receive a link to download it ASAP.

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Happy Leap Day: A 365K Club monthly update

Hey hey hey! It’s the last day of February – and it’s Leap Day, too – making this an extra-special, once-every-four-years type of 365K Club update. The stats, if you please…

So far this week:

February 27, Day 58: 235 words

February 28, Day 59: 390 words

February 29, Day 60: 1,298 words

That racks up to 1,923 words for the week, thus far, and a grand total of 17,546 words for the month!

Did I beat last month’s total?

Holy cannoli, did I ever! Although February is a shorter month than all the rest, I managed to smash my January total of 14,665 words by 2,881 words.

I also managed to cut down my number of zeros to only TWO total days for the month. Last month, for comparison’s sake, I had 7 days with no word counts – that’s an entire week’s worth of writing time, lost!

I’m also 32% of my way to my yearly goal of 100K! Gold stars across the board!

So, perhaps you can see why I’m (rather understandably) feeling proud of myself this month.

Badges of honor

In case you missed them, this month I managed to snag two badges during Week 5: the Paint A Portrait badge and the January Bullseye badge for hitting my monthly goal.

I anticipate winning another one of the latter for the month of February, but since the clock hasn’t officially hit midnight yet in all the world’s time zones, I’ll post it during next week’s round-up.

Another non-group badge of honor I received this month was being included in the San Diego Public Library’s annual Local Author Exhibit. The exhibit is celebrating its own 50th anniversary this year (congrats!), and I attended a bona fide soirée at the downtown library, where I received a very cool bit of swag: a pin commemorating the event!

I’ve been wearing it around town ever since.

I was also excited to see the book I contributed up near the front of the library’s exhibit. Today is actually the last day it’ll be on display, so I thought I’d share this snapshot my husband took the night of the party:

Nothing like seeing your name in print – or featured alongside your fellow authors in a snazzy glass display case!

The online exhibit is currently being updated for 2015, but you can flip through it here if you weren’t able to make it downtown to check out all of the awesome books contributed by local authors.

Goals for the rest of the week? Next month?

My goals for the rest of this week include working on a new nonfiction book, and getting back to my Venus prequel story!

My goal for next month? To demolish my February word count, of course.

See you on Saturday for another 365K Club check-in!

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February’s almost over already?! (365K Club, week 8)

It’s the end of Week 8, and time for another installment of my 365K Club roundup posts. Word counts, please!

February 20, Day 51: 320 words

February 21, Day 52: 628 words

February 22, Day 53: 517 words

February 23, Day 54: 433 words

February 24, Day 55: 419 words

February 25, Day 56: 1,228 words

February 26, Day 57: 943 words

That’s a grand total of 4,488 words for the week and 30,288 words for the year so far!

Did I beat last week’s total?

I did! Last week’s total of 3,842 was smashed effortlessly this week, thanks to several new ideas I had for my nonfiction writing. Stay tuned for a sneak peek from my newest book soon.

Goals for next week?

Keep on working on my new nonfiction book, which kicked off this week with a solid 1,228 words. And keep on working on my Venus prequel!

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Katrina Sawa on How to Design a Live Event, Retreat or Author Fan Event Around Your Book

Did you know that the Nonfiction Authors Association offers two free monthly teleseminars to help members learn more about writing, publishing and marketing their books?

Well guess what? They do!

Today’s teleseminar featured Katrina Sawa on How to Design a Live Event, Retreat or Author Fan Event Around Your Book.

One of the most useful things I got out of today’s call were some of Katrina’s comments on the value of Meetups. She noted that any time you start a Meetup group, if it’s related to your business in any way, you should be positioning yourself as a leader – even if the event itself focuses on another presenter – and you should certainly sell your books and services at the back of the room whenever that group meets.

I currently run two different Meetup groups, both affiliated with the Nonfiction Authors Association, so I hadn’t necessarily been thinking in terms of positioning myself as a salesperson there. Typically, when I host our our local Chapter Meeting (held on the third Friday of every month – the next one coming up on March 18 on the topic of Writing Nonfiction for Young People), I am positioning my guest speakers as the leaders, and thus taking a back seat for any marketing opportunities there.

The other Meetup I run is a Nonfiction Read & Critique Group that meets on the last Saturday of every month (next available meeting on March 26). While it’s currently a freebie, designed to introduce people to the local NFAA chapter, I think Katrina would agree that it’s also a good way for me to market my editorial services. Indeed, whether or not the Meetup continues to be offered for free or I decide to introduce a small fee for attendees, it would definitely be beneficial to me as the leader of that group to push my services a bit more to those who are attending the group. After all, what do you do in between monthly meetings if you are raring to keep going with your edits? Maybe… hire an editor?

So that was a great light bulb moment for me, and well worth the 30-minute investment today listening to this teleseminar.

Want to learn more?

Sign up for an Authority Membership at the Nonfiction Authors Association for access to the recording of this teleseminar! It’s just $19 a month, and if you live in San Diego – or anywhere else with a local chapter – you’ll also gain free access to our monthly meetings.

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Venus, Vermin & Valentines: 365K Club, week 7

It’s the end of Week 7, and time for another installment of my 365K Club roundup posts. Word counts, please!

February 13, Day 44: 1,414 words (my new daily high for the year, smashing last week’s record of 1,357!)

February 14, Day 45: 474 words

February 15, Day 46: 774 words

February 16, Day 47: 375 words

February 17, Day 48: 313 words

February 18, Day 49: 0 words

February 19, Day 50: 492 words

That’s a grand total of 3,842 words for the week and 25,800 words for the year so far!

Did I beat last week’s total?

This week, I did not manage to beat my previous week’s total of 5,290 words. It was a bit of a slow week for me, writing-wise, despite getting off to a good start on Saturday with my oddly Valentine’s themed word count.

I did, however, spend a good chunk of time promoting Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned From Pop Songs – including finally getting it into print! So, if you’re not into e-reading, you can now order a paperback copy from Amazon.

Goals for next week?

I still haven’t finished my Venus prequel story, so my goal for next week is still to finish that.

I’m also participating in an Iron Writers challenge this week (#147), so I’m working on finding an ending to the story I started on Thursday, and you’ll be able to vote for it on their website soon. The elements I’m tackling are:

The first line of any song
The sound of the ocean in a sea shell
A bet
The photo below

And now it’s off to a reading at Vermin on the Mount, where I will mingle with fellow writers, listen to some kickass readings, and hopefully glean some inspiration for a winning story!

What are YOU up to this fine Saturday evening?

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#HumpDayReviews: Incognegro by Mat Johnson

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Incognegro, written by author Mat Johnson (Pym, Loving Day) with illustrations by Warren Pleece, from my local library. It’s a quick read, so I chewed through it over lunch, and really enjoyed the tale. The subject matter is decidedly dark, but it’s also based on some real-life events, which gives an interesting gravitas to the graphic novel (or “comic book,” as some might have it…).

The title itself is a clever take on the subject of black folks in the U.S. “passing” as white, and that’s exactly what the title character does – though in this case, he passes in order to infiltrate white society as a defender of justice, exposing the men who are responsible for lynchings throughout the south in his (northern) newspaper column.

“Incognegro” is not a superhero, per se, though he does certainly pull off some Jedi mind tricks on white folks looking for trouble. He passes between two worlds, clouding his identity in order to get the information he needs to solve the case that has landed his brother in jail for a white woman’s murder.

Of course, he’s also constantly navigating a world that’s both familiar and strange to him, returning to the south after years spent up north in New York City, and the differences between these two worlds prove just as dangerous.

While I’m not typically a heavy reader of comic books or graphic novels, those that I have read tend to hook me with their presentation of historic moments through the visual medium. I’d liken this book to Maus in terms of its darker storyline and historic relevance, but it’s also an original tale that references the Harlem Renaissance – an era of black history and culture that could use its own graphic novels.

I wonder if perhaps one day Zane and his brother will return, with stories of the poets, musicians, and artists they mingled with after Incognegro was unmasked?

In the end, justice is served with its own black-and-white twist. If you can find a copy at your local library, I’d highly recommend picking this book up for Black History Month – or any month when you want to explore America’s racial dividing lines, past and present.

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Word Crimes: Erotica misspellings that bring out my inner dominatrix

In my spare time, I moonlight as an editor. Which is probably why I still find Weird Al’s “Word Crimes” video amusing.

But even if you don’t care much for grammar, spelling, or finding exactly the right word for your purple prose, I think this video calls attention to several Internet writing problems.

For one thing, B, C, R and U are words. As Weird Al points out, you should spell these out unless you’re seven years old – or Prince. I’ve always wondered what people who don’t spell these words out do with all their extra time… but I suspect they don’t watch Weird Al videos.

And I certainly agree with his notion that you should hire “some Cunning Linguist” to edit your work… and not just because that’s the name of my current WIP!

But there are a few of my pet peeves that Al doesn’t mention in this video.

Peek/Peak/Pique

For one, there’s the perplexing inability of erotica writers to properly differentiate between the words “peek” and “peak.” While both are in heavy rotation in this particular genre, some writers seem to have a difficult time figuring out which is which. So here’s the deal:

PEEK is for whenever a character needs to sneak a quick look – around a corner, down someone’s overflowing bosom, or even while they think the other person’s back is turned as they undress.
PEAK is for whenever you are whipping eggs, cream, or someone’s manly bits to attention. It’s also used when you reach the very top of your mountain, wave, or orgasm.

Clear as crystal?

I hope so.

But let’s not forget a third version of this word, which is even pronounced the same way: PIQUE!

You don’t “peek” or even “peak” someone’s interest, you pique it.

And no, it’s not actually pronounced piqué as if it’s French. If you put the accent on it, the word’s meaning is changed completely, either to meaning “durable ribbed clothing fabric of cotton, rayon, or silk” or “decoration of a tortoiseshell or ivory object with inlaid fragments of gold or silver.” (What a difference an accent aigu makes, eh? This is why I’m so shocked that the French have decided to get rid of the accent circonflexe on many of their words. Que est-ce que c’est, ça?!)

Heels vs. Heals

Here’s another faux pas that drives me to drink:

HEELS are shoes – commonly referred to as stilettos, Louboutins, or simply pumps.
HEALS is reserved for the medical profession; it’s what doctors and nurses to do you after your BDSM encounters get a little too crazy.

Get it? Got it? Good.

If not, my inner dominatrix will be summoned to beat these misspellings out of you, with a variety of whips and chains.

Or you can just hire me to whip your prose into shape, without all the drama and pain…

Et toi?

What’s the most egregious Word Crimes you’ve encountered? And how did you correct the problem?

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